S1E1: Pilot
by Megaman - Household Circuitry
Summary: Megaman, Roll, Protoman, and Tempo move into a house on their own as part of an experiment studying A.I's potential to live independently. Bass buys his way into the house, with the motive of fighting Megaman. Knowing disaster could spawn at any moment, everyone else tries to get him out of the house with as little trouble as possible. (Rated K for brief potty-mouthery.)
1. Chapter 1

"OK, so let me just say that this first week has been a success," Megaman announced to the rest of the household. "We've managed to get ourselves settled in our new home, and so far we haven't messed anything up."

"Well, there were some mess-ups," Roll said. "Like trying to explain having five bags worth of E-Tanks and nothing else to the people next door."

"Yeah," Megaman said, laughing a little bit. "So much for the idea that if you can pass for human, you'll have an easier time in life. I mean, they wouldn't be asking as many questions if we weren't human-passing."

"Speaking of 'passing', there was the debate whether or not these two counted as 'animals' according to the rules around here," Protoman pointed out, gesturing to Rush and Tango. "I mean, sure, they're the same size. But they're not as noisy, there's no shedding or other messes to worry about... unless, of course, they malfunction. Which hasn't happened very often, fortunately."

"Not to mention that we're not allowed to sell any of these appliances that came with the place, despite the fact that we're probably never going to use them," Tempo added.

"But yeah, Megaman's right," said Roll. "Aside from those few setbacks, we're pretty well settled in here."

"So now what do we do?" Tempo asked.

"Pretty much the same things we've been doing before the experiment," Megaman answered. "Except now we're living on our own."

"Cool."

"Ha... If we were truly living on our own, we'd be separated from each other living in our own individual hermitages," Protoman said.

"Oh, Proto, stop being so fake-deep!" Roll said, smirking.

"Fine, fine."

"So I'm gonna get started on the report to Dr. Light," Megaman said, starting up the computer in the corner of the living room. "If you guys have anything you wanna add, just say it." He began typing a message to Dr. Light. _Week 1 Report: All four participants have moved into the apartment safely. Although some setbacks occurred when interacting with the neighbors, they were easily cleared up after some explanation._ "Should we tell him about the thing, or no?" he asked the rest of the household.

"Nah," Roll said.

"OK."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Tempo said as she walked over to the door and opened it up. On the other side of the threshold was Mr. Pendergraft, a portly, brown-haired, middle-aged man who was Megaman and company's landlord.

"Hello," Mr. Pendergraft said. "Uh... Tempo, is it?"

"Yup!" Tempo answered.

"So, uh, just stoppin' to remind you that your fifth occupant is coming by shortly."

"Fifth occu- But we don't have a fifth occupant," Tempo said with a confused look on her face. "I mean, we have a five-bedroom place, but I thought we were using the fifth one as a guest room."

"Really?" Mr. Pendergraft questioned. "Because I thought before you rented the place, you said there were five people."

"Uhh... Megaman, come over here," Tempo called, asking for help with the situation.

"OK, what's going on?" Megaman approached the two at the door. "Good evening, Mr. Pendergraft," he greeted the landlord.

"Same to you. So you remember about your fifth occupant coming in soon, right?" Mr. Pendergraft said to Megaman.

"Fifth occupant? What fifth occupant?" At this point, Megaman was just as confused as Tempo. "The only people involved in this experiment are me, Roll, Protoman, and Tempo. No one else. At least, unless Dr. Light forgot to tell us that someone else was involved…"

"Well, someone called sayin' that he was also involved in the experiment, and that you neglected to mention it to me. Then he said he was comin' in late because he had an assignment of his own that he had to finish up beforehand," Mr. Pendergraft explained.

"Was it Dr. Light?"

"No, it wasn't. He didn't give his name, and he sounded kinda crabby. Dunno if it was 'cause you'd forgotten to mention him, or if that's just his voice. Some people are like that, y'know."

"Hm... I'll have to tell Dr. Light. Maybe he'll know something about this situation."

"Hang on... Maybe that's the fifth guy right now." Mr. Pendergraft drew Megaman and Tempo's attention to a black car pulling up into the driveway. The driver's side door opened, and a familiar black-armored figure emerged, followed by a equally familiar mechanical wolf-dog.

"You've got nerve, Pendergraft," the newest occupant said, letting out an aggravated sigh. "The least you could do is leave a sign saying how long you'd be gone."

Megaman immediately recognized the face and voice of the newcomer. "Bass?! You're moving in with us?" he exclaimed, shocked that his longtime rival wanted to move in with him.

"Yeah. Thought it'd be a nice surprise, y'know what I mean?" Bass stepped inside, lightly punching Megaman in the side as he passed him.

"But does-" Megaman began to question Bass's motives, but he was quickly cut off.

"No, he doesn't. And why should he? I've been trying to get away from him for so long, and I thought this would be a golden opportunity. ...Oh, and Light doesn't know, either. You're gonna have to tell him, I guess."

"Well, that's out of the way... But why did you come here, out of all places?" Megaman continued.

"Isn't it obvious? You're here, I'm here... Perfect time to sort out who's the strongest of the two," Bass answered, giving Megaman another light, yet firm punch to reinforce his point.

"Now, now. There'll be no fightin' on this property," Mr. Pendergraft said sternly, trying to wedge himself between the two rivals.

"Dammit. Well, I'm gonna get to you one day, Megaman," Bass said, looking MM directly in the eyes. "Preferably when this fool's not around." He gestured to Mr. Pendergraft. "All the more reason to start living with you..."

"So, uh, Mr. Pendergraft, does the rent drop if we kick Bass out?" MM asked.

"The only one who's gonna kick anyone out around here is me. And I am not dropping the rent just 'cause you're gettin' in a spat with one of your roommates," Mr. Pendergraft answered. "So settle your differences, at least for a month. Or else all of you are evicted!"

"OK, fine," Megaman sighed, turning to Bass. "Looks like you're living with us for the time being."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now don't cause any more trouble, or else," Mr. Pendergraft said, turning to leave.

"Yes, we know. Good night," Megaman said as Mr. Pendergraft left. Once Mr. Pendergraft was gone, he took Bass over to the rest of the group. "All right, guys. We've got a fifth tenant," he announced.

"Bass? You're living with us?" Roll said skeptically. She seemed just as reluctant to allow Bass in as Megaman was.

"Yeah. And if you have a problem with that, you can squeal to Pendergraft, and we'll all get evicted," Bass answered, side-eyeing Roll.

"Yeah, well, at least we have somewhere we can go," Roll shot back. "You're gonna be stuck with that Wily, and we all know how well that goes."

Protoman tried to make some peace between the two. "Well, Bass, if you're living with us, you've gotta pay your own share of the rent, and also keep the place looking liveable," he said. "And if Treble's gonna live here, make sure you've got him registered with Pendergraft."

"Already taken care of," said Bass.

Suddenly, a series of disconcerting animal noises could be heard. A growl, a hiss, a series of barks... Treble was already trying to pick a fight with the other animalistic support units. Tango managed to get away rather quickly by jumping to the top of a shelf, but Rush and Treble were about to maul each other before Megaman called Rush away from the fight.

"Don't worry. That big bad wolf's not gonna hurt ya," Roll said in a baby-talk voice, scratching Rush behind the ear. "Especially since if anything happens, Pendergraft's gonna get us into a heap of trouble, and we don't want that, do we? You gonna be a good boy? Who's a good boy?"

"I can't believe you said that in that ridiculous voice," Bass said in a disapproving tone.

"Come on. I bet you've talked to Treble that way before," Megaman taunted.

"Nope."

"Really?"

"Whatever. Bass, your room is at the end of the upstairs hallway," Protoman said, pointing to the nearby staircase. "There should already be a freshly-made bed there, and the power supply is on the wall closest to it."

"Thanks, Protoman. C'mon, Treb." Bass and Treble went upstairs for the night, allowing a moment of relative peace for the rest of the crew.

"I'm gonna add what happened in the past few minutes to the report," Megaman announced, going back to the computer. "Hopefully Dr. Light will understand the situation and allow Bass to live here."

"How?" Roll thought Megaman had gone crazy. "Bass was created by the same guy who tried to destroy the world so many times, and you want his creation to participate in this experiment with us? If anything, I think we should just call it off and leave him behind."

"Yeah, but keep in mind that Bass doesn't like Wily, either," Protoman said. "Plus, this is... " He sighed deeply. "This is kind of a chance I've been looking forward to for a long time. To have somewhere to live full-time where I can make my own decisions without having to be reminded of... _the incident._ " Everyone else looked at Protoman, knowing full well what the "incident" in question referred to. "Plus, I can get along with him pretty well, so if things get out of hand, I'll try to bring him to reason."

"Hang on..." Megaman had a plan. "I have an idea. What if we can get him out without the rest of us getting evicted? Like, not in an insidious way or anything. Just convince him to leave peacefully and let us continue with the experiment on our own."

"That sounds like a good idea, but how are we gonna pull that off?" Tempo asked.

"Simple," Megaman said. "We just, y'know, drop subtle hints? Like, maybe show him the rent prices or something, and he'll be scared off by the amount he'll have to pay."

"Nah, he'd probably freeload off of us," Roll said.

"Then we tell Pendergraft, and he'd likely just evict Bass while leaving the rest of us alone."

Tempo still wasn't convinced. "But what if that doesn't work?"

"We'll think of other things as time goes on. In the meantime, I'll get back on that report." Megaman went back to the computer and continued typing. _SWN-001 "Bass" has told Mr. Pendergraft that he was also part of the experiment without our knowledge. We are trying to find ways to make him leave without getting the entire household evicted. Hopefully this will have no ill effects on the experiment. If you have any ideas, please do not hesitate to reply. Signed, DLN-001 Rock/Megaman._ "And... send. Now hopefully this will go smoothly, and we- Oh, hi, Bass." He noticed Bass standing behind him.

"Can't reach the power supply," Bass said. "Someone help me move the bed."

"Protoman?" Megaman asked.

"I'm on it," Protoman said, getting up and going back with Bass to help move the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, the original four residents were assembled in the kitchen. They weren't doing much except sitting around and waiting for Bass to get up. Megaman had consumed an E-Tank, but that was about it.

"OK, it's 10 a.m. and Bass still hasn't gotten up yet," Roll said, getting somewhat impatient. "Someone's gonna have to get him up. Does anyone have a comm link to him?"

"Nope," everyone else said, almost in perfect unison.

"Well, I knew that," Roll said to Protoman, referencing his tendency to not keep in contact with others. "So it looks like someone's gotta actually go in there and get him up."

"Yeah, well, how's that gonna go? I don't know how he'd react if his sleep was disrupted," Megaman said nervously. "And if I'm the one doing it, he'd probably blow up at me the hardest."

"Tem? What about you?" Roll asked, turning to Tempo.

"I don't know... I guess it's worth a shot," Tempo said, getting up from her seat. She immediately went upstairs to wake up Bass.

On the other side of the bedroom door, Bass was sound asleep. But Treble was able to detect Tempo as she made her way closer to the door. He immediately sprang into action, running to the door and emitting a loud snarl. The sound startled Tempo into running back downstairs.

"He should be down soon," Tempo said, still a bit shaken by Treble's sudden awakening.

"What's the matter?" Megaman asked.

"Did you not hear that snarl?"

Sure enough, Bass and Treble came down the stairs. Treble was fully awake, trotting down the stairs ahead of his handler. Bass, on the other hand, still looked a little tired, as well as grumpy from being woken up. He let out a sound that was somewhere between a yawn and a sigh, then groaned, "What did you do that for?"

"Well, for one thing, it's after ten," Roll said, pointing to the clock above the doorway. "We've got stuff to do around here, you know. And I want you to do something for us, since you seem to want to live here so badly."

"I don't just _want_ to live here," Bass said, glaring at Roll. "I _do_ live here. And if you argue with Pendergraft…"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Roll interrupted, knowing full well what Bass was going to say about Mr. Pendergraft potentially evicting everyone. "So we want you to go over to Reagan's Repairs and get us some more supplies."

"But what about the five bags' worth of E-Tanks that the neighbours saw us drag in?" Tempo asked, wondering if Roll was going to send Bass to get any more of them.

"We've already got enough of those," Roll answered. "What we need is a fresh energy balancer for each of us. Never know when you're gonna need them. Preferably Ultima brand, if you can find any."

"Five Ultima brands…" Megaman said to himself. Then he realized something. "That's gonna-" he began before Roll cut him off.

"Yes. I know. And Bass's gonna do his part by getting us some." She looked up at Bass. "Right?"

"…OK," Bass said somewhat exasperatedly. "But you know, I'm not your delivery boy. I expect to be treated with respect in the future!" He pointed at Roll for emphasis.

"But we are treating you with respect," Roll said calmly. "We just want you to help out with the house and not be a freeloader. Now just go get us those balancers."

"Fine. But if you overwork me-"

"It's just one trip to get five things. Now will you please do your part and get us some?"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Bass left the house in a huff of rage. He called Treble to leave with him, got in the car, and sped off.

Once the sounds of the car engine faded away, Megaman voiced his concerns with Bass's mission. " _Five_ Ultima-brand energy balancers?! Do you know how much that's gonna cost?" he asked, visibly shocked by the price Bass would have to pay for five pieces of high-end equipment.

"If he doesn't do his part, we'll have grounds to kick him out for not cooperating with us," Roll explained.

"Yes, but you do realize that it'll take more than this to make it reasonable. We can't just keep giving Bass a bunch of impossible demands to follow. Plus, getting five Ultimas is a bit too steep for a first request. He's gonna figure out the plan eventually, and then we'll all get kicked out."

"Well, if any of you have any ideas for the next step of the plan, feel free to say it," said Roll.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "I got it," Protoman said, going down to answer it. "Hey, Mr. Pendergraft," he said after seeing who it was.

"Good morning, uh… is it Protoman, or-"

"Mm-hm. It's Protoman."

"OK." Mr. Pendergraft looked around the room before noticing someone was missing. "Where's Bass?"

"We sent him on an errand," Roll answered.

"Well, good for you, showin' him that no slackers will be tolerated on my property," Mr. Pendergraft said, giving Roll the thumbs-up. "What exactly did you ask him to do?"

"Uh… we sent him to get some energy balancers," Megaman answered, still a bit put-off by the price. "I'm kinda concerned about the cost, though. Aren't Ultima brand energy balancers a bit on the pricey side?"

"Not if you go to Right Stuff Parts & Service," Mr. Pendergraft answered. "They started carryin' Ultima about three days ago, and at a much lower price than Reagan's Repairs. Should be no trouble if he gets them there."

"Dang it!" Roll exclaimed, partially because of the fact that she could've sent Bass there for a better deal, and partially because her original plan to get him kicked out had a chance of failure.

"What's the matter?" Mr. Pendergraft asked. "Did you want him to go to Reagan's or something?"

"Um, I guess not. Heheh…" Roll averted Pendergraft's gaze, realizing her slip-up. "We sent him to Reagan's, but if I knew about Right Stuff's lower prices, I would've sent him there instead. Heh…"

"That's all right," Mr. Pendergraft reassured Roll. "We all make mistakes like that every now and then." He got ready to leave. "I'll probably be coming by again tomorrow, OK?"

"OK. Bye, Mr. Pendergraft," Megaman said, waving a little bit.

"Well, there goes that part of the plan," Roll said, shrugging.

"It's probably for the best," Protoman told her. "Like Megaman said, starting off too big would probably make him more likely to figure out the plan. Besides, we should still try to give him a chance. The threat of eviction will likely be enough to keep him from doing anything particularly bad."

"No, it won't," Roll said sharply. "He's still gonna be a jerk, eviction or not. So the only way to keep him and Rock from fighting and getting us all kicked out would be to kick him out, without the rest of us getting it."

"One sec…" Megaman had an idea. "What if it wasn't me? What if it was someone else?"

"What are you talking about?" Roll asked impatiently.

"Well, Pendergraft's only seen how me and Bass don't get along, right? Then maybe if he knows that Bass would act like a jerk to someone else in this household, then he'll realize that Bass is a jerk to everyone, and that he's the one who deserves to get the boot," Megaman explained.

"Well, it can't be Protoman, because for some reason, Bass doesn't act that way towards him."

"Uh… what about me?" Tempo suggested.

"Tempo?"

"Yeah. I can brush off any rude remarks pretty easily. Plus, it'll be a lot easier to frame him if we're doing a task together. I'll probably be too engrossed in it to react to anything, so if Mr. Pendergraft catches him just being a jerk and I'm just sitting there, he won't count that as 'fighting on the property'. Bass would just be proving himself to be an all-around jerk, so Mr. Pendergraft would probably just evict him without anyone else."

"Good job taking one for the team, Tempo," Protoman said, giving a nod of approval.

"Well, like Roll said, it couldn't be you, because apparently you get along with him? Like, how is that possible?" Tempo asked, confused at how Protoman and Bass were able to cooperate with one another when nobody else in the group could.

"Having to deal with Wily for a short stint of time while hating the crap out of it certainly helps." Protoman let out a soft chuckle, before shaking his head and facepalming at the mention of that time.

* * *

Around forty minutes had passed before Bass returned. "I'm back," he said, opening the door and bringing the energy balancers inside, with Treble close behind. "And I don't know why you guys went and made me get those five Ultimas at Reagan's. They were expensive as all hell, and you know what else I heard? You can get 'em for just two thirds of the price at Right Stuff! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Sorry… Right Stuff only started carrying Ultima three days ago, and I guess we didn't get the news in time," Megaman said with a sheepish look on his face.

"Don't sweat it, Bass," Protoman said reassuringly. "At least each of us has a good-quality energy balancer for emergencies, and you've contributed to the household."

"Speaking of 'contributing to the household'," Roll said, handing Bass a paper, "you're probably gonna want to take a look at the rent prices. You will be expected to pay your share of rent."

"500 a month? I can handle that," scoffed Bass. "Are you somehow implying that I'm not good with money? If I recall correctly, it was you who sent me to buy those energy balancers without searching for cheaper prices."

"We. Didn't. KNOW." Roll glared up at Bass, but it was a bit hard to do properly because of the height difference between the two.

"Whatever. You gonna put me through any more toil?"

"Actually, no," Megaman answered. "We'll put the balancers away for the time being. You can just do what you want for now."

"Huh... Fine. I'm going up to my room. Do NOT disrupt unless it's an absolute emergency." Bass went upstairs, hiding himself in his room for the rest of the day. This gave the others plenty of time to formulate the next part of their plan.

"OK," Megaman addressed the group. "So, Tempo, do you have any ideas for stuff you can do?"

"Yeah, actually," Tempo answered. "We've got a fair amount of stuff that's still in the basement and needs to be unpacked. Plus, if I subtly mention that this is _our_ house, as in DLN and LMN, then maybe he might get the message that he'd be better off away from us. What do you think?"

Megaman paused to think about Tempo's idea for a second. "That might work," he said. "But like I said earlier, keep it subtle. We don't know how Bass will act around you yet, so it might not be a good idea to provoke him."

"Um, do you think it would be a good idea if I help out?" Protoman requested. "Might be a good way of keeping fights to a minimum, as well as not taking as long to get everything sorted out."

"That's actually a good idea. But keep in mind that our objective is to get Bass out of the house, so you've got to do your bit," Megaman said.

"What, are you accusing me of supporting Wily all of a sudden? You do realize I hated him as much as Bass does, right? And it was genuine, too. Not just a case of objective overriding allegiance."

"No. Never!" Megaman exclaimed. "I'm just saying that you might make it a bit harder for Bass to realize that he needs to get out of here. So you'd probably need to convince him to leave, as well. After all, isn't it a brother's duty to protect the rest of his siblings?" He winked at Protoman.

"OK, OK. I get it," Protoman said. "I'll make sure to do my part."


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, the entire household was back out meeting in the kitchen. This time, Bass had woken up at around the same time as everyone else, so there was no need for anyone to go up to his room and wake him up, whether directly or indirectly as a result of Treble's guard-dog capabilities.

"All right, so we still have some things in the basement that we need to put in their proper places," Megaman announced. "Unfortunately, I still have some documentation to take care of, and Roll is going to be busy upstairs. So the remaining three of you have to clean out the basement." He gestured to Protoman, Tempo, and Bass.

"No problem," Protoman said, already knowing what was about to go on.

"Hehehehe… _Base_ ment… like your name," Tempo giggled, making a pun on Bass's name and the location where they were to do their cleaning.

"Stop it," Bass growled, clearly unamused.

"OK, so if you have any problems on where anything should go, Protoman should be able to help you out," Megaman said.

"Cool," said Tempo.

"Let's get started." Protoman led Bass and Tempo down to the basement. It was a low-ceilinged room lit by a dim, yellow lamp on the ceiling. Flecks of dust could be seen floating around almost everywhere, and the green shag carpet on the floor was falling apart in a few places. Clutter covered almost every part of the floor's surface, with only five square feet of walking room near the stairwell. There was a door to another section of the basement, but it was blocked by the mass of junk. A strong, musty odour lingered through the air.

"Good God, who owned the place before you did? It reeks in here," Bass said, scrunching up his face at the smell of the place.

"I don't know. We'd have to ask Pendergraft," Protoman answered. "But yeah, it does smell terrible. Lucky for us, breathing isn't as much of an issue."

"Fortunately, once we get some deodorizing done, it shouldn't smell anymore," Tempo pointed out. "Unfortunately, doing so will be easier only after we get all this clutter out of the way. All the more reason to get started, I guess. I'll take this section of the room. You guys can divide the rest up."

"I'll take here to here," Protoman said, gesturing at the section he was going to take care of. "You do the rest." He set off working, whistling to himself as he usually did.

Bass didn't take Protoman's whistling well, it seemed. "Ugh… C- Can you not?!" he yelled, visibly perturbed.

"What's the matter?" asked Protoman.

"You're getting on my nerves."

"Well, I'm not trying to get on people's nerves. Unlike those stupid commercials you hear on a regular basis…"

"Doesn't matter. It sounds terrible."

"No, I don't think it does. I'm not out of pitch or anything, am I?"

"No, it just… The sound is just inherently bothersome."

Protoman paused for a moment. "OK, let's make a deal," he suggested after thinking about a decent compromise. "I'll quiet down and stick to my lower register, as well as only do it when I'm a fair distance away. That better?"

"I guess," Bass sighed, still not satisfied at the prospect of someone whistling in the same room as him. "Let's just see how it goes." He continued sorting out the clutter in his section of the basement, monitoring Protoman to see if he would stay true to his word.

"So, uh… Bass," Tempo said, trying to start a conversation. "How long have you been away from Wily and been doing your own thing?"

"Away from him? Well, I've only been truly away from him for the past two nights," Bass answered. "Before that, I only stuck with him out of necessity. Room and board, free emergency repairs, source of E-Tanks, all that stuff. I've barely spoken to him for about… what was it, a year now? Not bad, if I do say so myself."

"So you're saying you still have somewhere to go aside from here?"

"Yeah, but why would I want to? The place is a complete wreck, and I swear that man's losing his mind day by day. Makes you wonder why humans like him don't have decommission dates…"

"Whatever. _Our_ place is always open… well, within reason, anyways," Tempo said, placing emphasis on "our" to imply that Bass didn't truly belong to the household yet.

"Hm. So where does this thing go?" Bass held out a stack of spare bedsheets to Tempo.

"Proto?" Tempo called.

"What's going on?" Protoman asked, coming closer to get an idea of what was happening.

"Bass is wondering where in _our_ house these spare sheets go."

"Linen closet, preferably on the third shelf down," he answered.

"All right." Bass started upstairs, but paused to add one thing. "And what's with the emphasis on 'our' house"?

"What emphasis?" Tempo asked, feigning confusion.

"Hm. Thought you were trying to mess with me or something, but I don't know. Whatever." He went upstairs, still somewhat confused over the way Tempo emphasized the word "our" when talking about the house.

After about four hours, the basement was almost completely tidied up. Most of the clutter could be taken to the storage portion of the basement, which was now easily accessible. Furniture in the rec room part of the basement could be strategically placed to hide the places where the carpet was falling apart. More lamps would likely need to be added in order to see better, but that could come later. The entire basement was also deodorized, getting rid of the musty smell. All that was left to do was organize a bookshelf in the corner of the rec room.

"OK, the last thing we need to do is sort out some of _our_ books," Tempo said, dragging out a large box filled with various books. "I'll dig 'em out of the box, Protoman can sort them, and Bass can put them on the shelf."

"A to G goes on the top shelf, H to M on the second, N to S on the third, the rest on the bottom," Protoman told Bass. "Try to keep them in alphabetical order as much as possible. Got it?"

"Mm," Bass mumbled indifferently. "I'm just glad it no longer smells in here. You honestly waited for one week before doing something about it?"

"Well, we have priorities," explained Protoman. "We didn't expect to be using the basement that often, but I guess since you're in _our_ house now, we might need a bit more room."

"Are you implying I don't belong here?" Bass was starting to pick up on the plan. "Because I have every right to be here as much as you do."

"But why did you buy your way into this place without the rest of us knowing?"

"To fight Megaman."

"But that's not allowed, according to Pendergraft. So now what's your purpose here?" Protoman asked, challenging Bass to find another reason to stay.

It seemed Bass didn't know any reason to stay other than to fight Megaman. He wore a puzzled frown as he scoured his mind for more reasons, but he couldn't think of anything else. Protoman and Tempo were obviously aware that Bass himself couldn't think of any other reason to buy his way into the house and lie about being part of the experiment. If Bass's intent was to avoid Wily, then he could have said as much in the beginning. But it seemed as the only reason Bass came was just to fight Megaman, which would result in eviction for everyone, and the experiment wouldn't be able to continue. So he just sat there for a minute without saying anything.

"Right," Protoman responded to Bass's silence. "Now, we're letting you live here for the time being because we know you hate Wily's guts. But keep in mind that you haven't been given permission from Light to live here yet, so you're not a full member of the household. Understand?"

"...I guess. But why are you putting me through all this if I don't actually live here?" Bass demanded to know.

"Well, what if you eventually do live here? We don't want you to freeload off of us," Tempo said.

"If anything, it seems like you're the freeloaders around here," Bass retorted. "Why the hell are you giving me all the rough tasks?"

"Because there's a lot of other stuff around the house that takes way more work than what we've had you do so far," Protoman said matter-of-factly. "This past week, we've been doing a lot to get fully moved in. Unpacking all our stuff, registering the pets, landscaping, moving furniture, not to mention the amount of documentation we've had to do for the experiment..."

"Plus, so far we've only gotten you to do two things around the house. That's one task per day," Tempo added. "One involved you going off to get some supplies, and the other is what we're doing right now. If anything, we should have you helping out more around here."

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Bass yelled. "And why are you here?" He turned to Tempo, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pulled her closer to his face. "You're not one of Light's creations. Yet they're not billing you as a freeloader!" He let go of Tempo and turned to Protoman. "Why's that? Because you guys like her better? Because she's a little doormat who sucks up and does whatever you tell her?"

"I'm not doing this because they're telling me to." Tempo's voice was calm yet firm. "I'm doing this because I want to contribute to the house, and by extension, contribute to the experiment. Plus, I volunteered the idea to clean up the basement. So if you want anyone to blame, blame me."

"Yeah, but why are you in this experiment and not me?" Bass continued on his tirade. "Is it because they like you better? Is it because..." He pointed an accusatory finger at Protoman. "... _he_ likes you better?"

"No!" Tempo exclaimed, shocked that Bass would accuse her of having any romantic involvement with Protoman. She nervously tried to explain herself, but it was difficult because Bass was standing very close to her. "It's… it's because Dr. Lalinde wanted me to do this thing after hearing about it from Dr. Light. Uh... She thought it would be a good opportunity for me to expand my social horizons, as well as having a bit of a break from work. Plus, I was one of the participants who registered in the beginning. You waited a week until we'd settled in, and Mr. Pendergraft didn't tell us until the last second. Well, I guess that was his fault, rather than yours…" She shrugged and looked away.

Bass let out an angry sigh. "Whatever. Why don't you guys hurry up so we can get done?" he nagged.

"We're almost finished. Don't worry," Protoman reassured him, trying to mask the impatience in his voice. At this point, he was just as anxious to get the work done as Bass was.

* * *

"So how'd it go?" Megaman asked as he saw the three come upstairs after the basement was cleaned out.

"Terrible," Bass grumbled. "They were saying that this isn't my home, even though it kinda is since I registered myself, agreed to pay rent, and helped you out."

"Well, then again, the experiment was only going to be for the four of us before you came and barged in without us knowing, just so you could get in a fight," Megaman said, approaching Bass and looking him straight in the eye. "Plus, you haven't been given official permission to participate. Just because you're living here for now doesn't mean that this is your home."

"He's right, you know," Protoman spoke up. "Just look what I've had to go through for the last few years."

"Listen, Bass," Megaman said calmly. "Mr. Pendergraft said that we have to cooperate, or else we'll all get evicted. But that's gonna interfere with the experiment. So since you're not officially part of it, we think the best solution is for you to leave." He sighed, knowing that Bass would not be satisfied with this decision. "I know this doesn't sound like the best thing for you to go through, but we think that you're liable to pick a fight with me over the slightest thing, which might get us evicted. And if we get evicted, we can't do the experiment."

"So?" Bass said, eyes narrowing. "He can conduct this stupid experiment from the lab, can he not?"

"No. That's not the point of it. The point is to see how well A.I.'s can manage life on their own without human interference. Well, aside from Pendergraft, anyway. And being back at the lab won't allow us to live without humans, so we can't do it there."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Bass said stubbornly, crossing his arms. "So you can go squeal to Light and beg him to change the location. Which he probably won't do, because he already made agreements with Pendergraft. So I guess you're either stuck with me, or you're going back with him."

"Well, remind me why you came here in the first place," Megaman said, still retaining his relatively calm tone.

"So you and me could have a go at each other," Bass said, using the same motive he had stuck with since the beginning. "But since Pendergraft's stupid face is keeping us from doing that-"

"Exactly," Megaman cut Bass off. "So there's no point for you to be here."

" _I'll stay here if I bloody well want to!_ " Bass yelled, leading Megaman into a corner and turning his arm into the Bass Buster. "And there's no way that-"

"Hold up," Megaman said, responding to a knock on the door. He went up to answer it. "Hey, Mr. Pendergraft," he said nervously upon seeing the displeased expression on the landlord's face.

"What's all the ruckus over here? I thought I told you guys not to act all sour with each other," Mr. Pendergraft said sternly, entering the house.

"Well, we've got a bit of a problem," Megaman began. "We tried to tell Bass that he wasn't a full-fledged member of the household yet, because Dr. Light hadn't given him permission to do the experiment with us. Then he started getting upset, and then we suggested that the best thing he could do at this moment was that he leave us. I mean, if you think about it, the real reason he decided to come here was to pick a fight with me, which you say is not allowed on the property."

"That's right." Mr. Pendergraft looked back where Bass was standing. "Has he been upholding his end of the bargain?"

"Um…" Megaman nervously glanced back at Bass. Bass's arm has turned back to normal, and he wasn't displaying any other signs of overt aggression. "Yeah. Sure, there was tension, but it hadn't gone to blows. But if that was the only reason he came here in the first place, and he's not officially part of the experiment, don't you think that maybe he should go back to his old place?"

"Well, he's agreed to pay rent and help out with household expenses, as well as help me in any tasks I may need," Mr. Pendergraft said. "And apparently he's been doing that, as I saw yesterday when you sent him for some energy balancers. So if he's doing his part, then he has every right to be here as much as you."

"But you don't understand," Megaman continued. "Even if he's cooperating with us, he still said that his main purpose for living here is to fight me whenever he gets the chance." He turned to Bass. "Didn't you?"

"What?" Bass pretended to be shocked. "You just told him that I was doing my part to stay peaceful with you."

"Yeah, but you still said that your motive for coming here was to fight me. You even said that right to Pendergraft's face the first night you were here."

"Did I?"

"Yes. Your exact words were 'I'm going to get to you one day, preferably when this fool's not around'," Megaman quoted Bass. "And by 'fool', you were referring to Mr. Pendergraft. And then you said, 'All the more reason to start living with you'."

"I never said anything like that!" Bass protested.

"Yes, you did," Megaman said. "And why were you trying to corner me just before Pendergraft came in?"

"Because you wanted to kick me out."

"Yeah, because you don't deserve to be here. Honestly, this wouldn't have happened if you weren't here."

"Well, at least I've done some helping out around here," Bass scoffed.

"Because we wanted to make sure you wouldn't freeload off us."

"All right, all right, that's enough!" yelled Mr. Pendergraft. "Remember what I said about you needing to cooperate? Well, that still stands. This is an early offence, so I'll let you off with a warning for now. But if you keep this nonsense up, you're gonna be in big trouble. And I'm not kidding around this time." He glared at Megaman and Bass. "Got that?"

"Uh… Uh… OK," Megaman stuttered, backing away from Mr. Pendergraft.

"Good." Mr. Pendergraft softened his tone. "Now, tomorrow I might need some help with handing out a few signs around the neighborhood. I might let you off a little easier if you come out to help."

"That sounds reasonable," Megaman responded. "But Bass and I probably aren't going to be there together. I think it might be a good idea to keep our distance from one another for a little while."

"Are you still trying to imply that I don't belong here?" Bass snapped, shooting a look back at Megaman.

"Actually, not this time. I'm just saying that if Pendergraft catches us arguing, he'll probably kick us out, so it might be a good idea to not go together," explained Megaman.

"That's not a bad idea, actually," said Mr. Pendergraft. "Megaman, I think you should be the one to go out, since you've been here longer."

"Not only that, but I think you'd get along better with Pendergraft than Bass," Roll added.

"How do you know that?" Bass turned his attention to Roll. "If anything, Pendergraft's been more agreeable with me."

"See what I mean?" Roll said. "If you're that quick to argue with me about something trivial, you'll probably do that to Pendergraft as well."

"Shut up."

"OK, stop bickering," Mr. Pendergraft said. "Now, Megaman- or is it Rock? I get confused when Light keeps referring to you by two names."

"Doesn't matter," Megaman answered. "I answer to both."

"OK. I want you to meet me at 9:00 am tomorrow. We're gonna be covering 16 blocks, so if you need to stock up on any of those energy cans or what-have-you, make sure you do that."

"All right," Megaman answered. "Is it OK if i bring the dog, too?" he added as Rush came into the room.

"That's fine by me."

"'Kay, see you tomorrow, Mr. Pendergraft."

"Good night."

"I still think he likes me better," Bass said after Mr. Pendergraft was out of earshot.

"Who cares? Let's just drop the subject and recharge for the night," Roll suggested. "Especially Megaman, since he's got a pretty big errand tomorrow. And as for you," she said, turning to Bass, "I'm gonna give you the day off. I think for now, you've earned it in spite of your constant complaining."

"Well, you sent me to that expensive-ass Reagan's place-" Bass complained.

"For the last time, we didn't know about the prices!" Roll said, raising her voice.

"Whatever. I'm going to bed," Bass said, making his way upstairs.

"OK. Good night," Roll answered.

"I wonder how this thing's gonna go?" Megaman mused. "Moreover, I wonder how you're gonna treat Bass while I'm out."

"Well, since he's figured out that we don't want him here, and he's gonna stay here anyway so we can avert the risk of Pendergraft evicting us, I decided to give him the day off," said Roll. "Since you're gone, all he's gonna do is probably just staying in his room, only coming out for the odd E-Tank. He's not gonna do anything particularly bad."

"I guess. I'm going up now. Gotta get a good rest for tomorrow."

"OK. Good night."


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning was clear, with a mild breeze. The temperature was nearly perfect - neither too hot nor too cold. There was relatively little traffic on the streets. Several birds and squirrels could be heard and seen scampering around the trees and fences. It was a good day to be outside and doing some work. That was exactly what Megaman was out to do, walking down the sidewalk to meet Mr. Pendergraft, with Rush at his heels. "Morning, Mr. Pendergraft," he said as soon as Mr. Pendergraft came into view.

"Morning!" Mr. Pendergraft answered. "So, that's your dog, huh?" he asked, gesturing to Rush.

"Mm-hm. This is Rush, canine support unit extraordinaire."

"He's a mighty fine specimen," Mr. Pendergraft said, scratching Rush behind the ear. "Now, these papers need to be delivered to every house on all 16 blocks in the square formed by 12th, Chaucer, 14th, and Jackson." He pointed to a drawn-out area on a map of the suburb. "See on the map? I'll tackle one side of the street, you take the other. Got that?"

"Yup!"

"OK, let's go." Mr. Pendergraft handed Megaman a stack of papers, and the two set off to hand them out to every house on the map.

* * *

"I'm gonna be going out for a while," Bass announced as he made his way to the front door with Treble at his side. "Don't follow me!"

"You know Megaman's out helping Pendergraft," said Roll. "I hope you're not gonna try to bug him."

"What do I care about his stupid little errand?" scoffed Bass. "I'm not interested in what he's doing, especially when it concerns Pendergraft. I'm using my day off to get away from this place and the people in it, including your stupid brother."

"Fine. Just don't cause any trouble."

* * *

"OK, I've got about half of the papers handed out," Megaman said, meeting Mr. Pendergraft at a nearby bench.

"Great job," Mr. Pendergraft said, sitting down on the bench. "I think we can afford to take a little break. Just set the papers down beside you. It's a bit gusty out, though, so you might wanna weigh 'em down. Got anything?"

"Rush can probably sit on them to weigh them down." Megaman called Rush and ordered him to sit on the rest of the papers.

"So what're the others doin' today?" Mr. Pendergraft asked, curious about what everyone else's plans were.

"I don't know… Today seems like a pretty easy day back home. All that's going on is probably just documentation."

"Oh, yeah, that experiment thing. What's it for again? I forget."

"Dr. Light wants to research the capacity for artificial intelligences to live among themselves, with minimal human contact," Megaman explained. "Obviously, you're an exception because you're our landlord, but other than that, there are no human beings living in the house. Apparently, he's using the research in this experiment for further A.I. development. But even so, it's kind of nice to have a life of my own." He sighed, with a smile on his face.

"That's understandable. Second Law can be a bit of a pain sometimes, hm?" Mr. Pendergraft noted.

"Well, actually, for us, the Second Law is a bit more downplayed than for others. After all, we weren't created entirely for labour purposes. We're like a family of sorts to Dr. Light."

"OK, I see," Mr. Pendergraft said. "But what about that Tempo girl? You told me that she wasn't created by Light."

"She wasn't," answered Megaman. "One of Dr. Light's colleagues, Dr. Lalinde, was the one who created her. Lalinde thought it would be a good idea for Tempo to participate in the experiment so she could perhaps gain more social skills than what she would back home."

"Hm. Interesting," Mr. Pendergraft mused. "And I've only heard part of the story about that Bass fella. Where's he from, and why do you have such a beef with him?"

"Well, uh… you see, he was created by Wily. You know, that guy responsible for the forced reprogramming of some of Dr. Light's other creations, creating a decoy of Protoman to fool us into thinking he'd gone bad, the whole world championship fiasco, stuff like that?"

"...Hm. Maybe you were right about not lettin' him stay with the rest of you," Mr. Pendergraft told Megaman. "After all, being created by a madman of that caliber…"

"Well, the thing is, Bass hates Wily just as much as the rest of us," Megaman continued. "The only thing he's concerned about is taking me down, which is what he was built for. But that eventually made him hate Wily's guts. Case of objective overriding programming, y'know? And I guess his second law kinda kicked in when you threatened eviction, so I guess we're stuck with him for now. I mean, we were trying to find ways to get him out, but he figured it out and, uh… let's just say it started to get ugly." He looked back at Mr. Pendergraft. "But if you think about it, his directive is pretty much his only flaw. I mean, he might be kind of a jerk to almost everybody, but if there's some way to curb his programming a bit, then maybe he could live here. I mean, life with Wily doesn't seem all that good, so I kinda wanna cut him a bit of slack. But knowing him, that's probably not going to happen, so I think it'd be easier if he just leaves us alone."

"Well, what I said still stands. If there's too much bickerin' between you, then you're out," Mr. Pendergraft said, getting off the bench. "Now let's get the rest of these handed out." He noticed a strong breeze blowing by. "And you might wanna be careful. The wind's getting gusty."

"OK. C'mon, bud," Megaman said, directing Rush off the stack of papers. But right after Rush jumped to the ground, another breeze came, stirring up the papers and blowing them right towards the uppermost branches of a very slender tree growing on the side of the road. This was obviously not the best thing to happen, as there was no way of getting them back without much assistance. And even if one were to get them back, they would likely have suffered damage from various tree branches. "We've got a problem," Megaman said guiltily, pointing up to the tree where the papers got stuck.

"See what I told ya?" Mr. Pendergraft tut-tutted. "Now you've lost 'em."

"Don't worry. I can get 'em back," Megaman said. "Rush! Fuse!" he commanded Rush. Immediately, the two fused into a red armor with a jet pack on the back. Megaman flew up and set to work trying to get up the tree.

"Well, it's a good thing that you can get that dog to solve a problem that he caused," Mr. Pendergraft said, looking up at Megaman.

"This gonna be tough, though," Megaman called back. "I don't know if I'll be able to fit between these branches. They look pretty unstable to me." He continued to hover below the branches, looking for an opening. But unfortunately, it took too long to look before he began to run out of energy. "And now we're about to run out of energy." He descended, and fused out of the armor.

"Ah, no…" Mr. Pendergraft sighed, face-palming. "You ruined it, I tell ya." He looked down at Megaman and Rush. "Well, you didn't ruin it. It was the dog who ruined it - partly because he ran out of juice, and partly because you and him can't fit in that freakin' tree."

"Well, hey, at least he tried to help me," Megaman said, trying to be optimistic.

"Yeah…" Mr. Pendergraft agreed. "But what else are we gonna do about it? It'll take us too long if we wait for the wind to blow 'em down. And I don't think the landscaping place's gonna be too happy if we ask 'em to cut down branches just so we can get those papers."

Megaman hung his head in disappointment. "All I can think of is if there's someone watching this, they're probably thinking I'm a fool for getting myself into this mess," he said. "I mean, papers getting caught in a tree? Really?"

"Yeah, you're right," Mr. Pendergraft agreed. "Well, that's a lost cause right there. Goin' down to the copy shop will take too much time, and we had to get this done in a day…" He let out a deep sigh. "I guess we'll have to pack it in."

"Sorry, Mr. Pendergraft," Megaman apologized, his head still hanging low.

"Hey! Up here!" A familiar voice could be heard from up above. Megaman and Mr. Pendergraft looked up to see who it was. Sure enough, it was Bass, flying high above them in his Treble Boost armor. "Looks like someone made a stupid mistake," he taunted. "Like, really? Letting a bunch of papers get blown to the top of a tree? I thought you'd have known better." He flew further up in the tree, gathered almost all of the papers, and flew back down, handing them to Mr. Pendergraft.

"Wh- What was that for?" Megaman asked, confused that Bass would want to do something good on his own accord for once.

"Figured it'd be in my best interest to get into Pendergraft's good books if I'm gonna stay with you guys," Bass answered.

"Well, uh... thank you," Megaman said, still confused. "I mean, Mr. Pendergraft probably would've let me off fairly easy, but I guess we can get these papers to people who need them."

"People who need them? Pff. They'll probably end up in the trash the moment people get them."

"Well, uh... Thanks," said Megaman. With that, Bass fused out of the Treble Boost armor and returned home.

"And you said he's been actin' nasty to you ever since you guys met?" Mr. Pendergraft asked once Bass was out of earshot.

"Well, I'm not too sure about his motive," Megaman pointed out. "He said he decided to help because he wanted your approval, but I don't know if that's just so he can further his goal of fighting me without being kicked out."

"What I said before still stands," Mr. Pendergraft said. "There's not gonna be any fightin' around here-"

"Or else we'll get evicted," Megaman finished. "I've practically got that memorized that by now."

"Whatever. Let's finish the job," Mr. Pendergraft said, crossing the street to get the houses on that side. He and Megaman continued to pass out papers, getting at the other side of the map. When they had finished, the sun was beginning to set. This was their cue to head back home and call it a night.


	5. Chapter 5

Back at home, Bass was telling everyone else about how he gave the papers back to Mr. Pendergraft without being asked. So far, no one was convinced that he had no other intentions other than to please Mr. Pendergraft.

"So you're telling us you did this out of the goodness of your heart, with absolutely no ill intent whatsoever?" Protoman asked, skeptical.

"Yes, I did," Bass answered. "Actually, part of it was wanting to make a better impression on Pendergraft, but most of it was just helping out."

"Somehow this seems a bit sketchy, like this is the second phase of some kind of evil scheme," Roll said, still not convinced. "But we'll believe you for now. Just don't get into any more trouble. Hear me?"

"Yes, madam," Bass half-sighed, half-growled.

"Guys!" Megaman called from the computer. "Dr. Light got back to us." After everyone had gathered around, he started reading Dr. Light's reply out loud. " _It is good to hear that you have all settled in nicely. I just got in contact with Mr. Pendergraft, and talked to him about the situation with SWN-001 'Bass'. According to him, Bass has demonstrated excellent cooperation with household tasks, and even took time out of a day off to assist in retrieving some important papers. Mr. Pendergraft has also said that even though there were some arguments between you and Bass, they were not physical, and did not deeply affect the entire household. So he is willing to excuse those few instances_."

"Hm… I thought he said that if there was any fighting whatsoever, then he'd kick us all out," said Tempo. "I guess he's gone back on that?"

"I think he meant something more like physically fighting," explained Megaman. "Anyway, here's more." He continued reading out loud. " _In the end, I decided to allow Bass into the household. However, there are a specific set of rules that must be agreed to. Number 1: Bass is not to report any part of the experiment to Dr. Albert W. Wily. Well, that's a given. If this research falls into the wrong hands, it could have devastating effects. As such, we cannot afford to let Bass tell Dr. Wily anything about it_."

"Well, don't worry about that part," Bass said. "I'm not gonna let that madman know anything about what I'm doing."

"Continuing on… _Number 2: Bass is not allowed to use offensive weapons in the presence of any of the participants or Mr. Pendergraft unless absolutely necessary. Bass has a strong tendency to get in fights with others, and doing so may result in eviction, which will affect all participants of the experiment. To further affirm this, I have attached a code which will neutralize Bass's offensive weaponry in the presence of the participants' signatures. The weapons will return to their normal state if an enemy signature is detected, so Bass can defend himself in the presence of enemies. Bass must have the code installed if he wishes to continue living with the participants_."

"So basically he wants me to be defenseless while the rest of you can lay all the hits on me that you want? That sounds unfair."

"No. He made this rule so you wouldn't try to pick fights," Megaman explained. "Ever since we met, you've always been the one to launch the first strike. We wouldn't do this to you, so that's why this doesn't apply to us." He paused to think for a second. "At least, for the time being. Another one of us could have to get this code installed sometime. Or you might have it removed if you've demonstrated good behaviour."

"Besides, you'll be able to defend yourself if any of Wily's goons come around," Roll added. "Their signatures will override ours, and you'll be able to use your weapons again."

"Hm. Sounds like a bunch of bull," scoffed Bass. "But I guess I have to go through with it if I don't want to face Wily again."

"Whatever." Megaman continued reading. " _Number 3: As of this writing, Bass is not an official participant of this experiment. However, if he wishes to join, I can send a copy of the experiment guidelines as well as a release form. Regardless of whether or not he chooses to directly participate, he is to be considered an additional factor in this experiment, and will be mentioned in reports if necessary. If Bass agrees to these conditions, he is to sign a printed copy of this correspondence, and send it back to Light Labs. I wish you all the best of luck in the future of this experiment. Signed, Dr. Thomas Light_." He turned back to Bass. "So what do you think? Do you want to join this experiment?"

"Rgh… Joining the experiment means more stupid rules, right?"

"Yes, it does. Granted, none of us had a problem with them. But there was at least ten paragraphs of extra rules, some of which I'm fairly certain you'll disagree with."

"Then that's a no for me. But I _am_ still living here, am I?"

"Yeah, if you sign the correspondence." Megaman started up the printer, aiming to have it ready.

"Guess I'll sign," Bass said, shrugging disgruntledly. "Although I freaking hate that I have to be rendered defenseless…"

"At least you don't have any human orders to worry about," Protoman spoke up.

"Don't remind me!"

"Printing's done," Megaman said, retrieving the papers and giving them to Bass. "Just sign here. Also, I'll get the code on a flash drive for you."

"Nrrrgh…" Bass snarled, signing the paper.

"It's just for when you're around us and there's no trouble around. You're not gonna be totally defenseless," Megaman said, handing Bass the flash drive. 

* * *

Later that night, the entire household was watching the evening news. They weren't sitting all together on the same couch, but they were all in the same room without any discord. During a commercial break, there was a commercial advertising Right Stuff Parts and Service. "We're home to all your everyday mechanical needs," said a female announcer's voice. "With a wide selection of…"

"Hey, remember when we sent Bass to get those Energy Balancers from Reagan's instead of Right Stuff?" Tempo spoke up, referencing Bass's first day in the house.

"It happened two days ago. I think we can all easily remember that," Bass said. "Y'know, I'm beginning to suspect you knew all along about the price thing, and you were trying to make me pay more on purpose."

"Actually, you're half-right," admitted Roll.

"Explain."

"It's true that we didn't know about the price difference at Right Stuff. But we were trying to get you to pay high amounts of money in order to make you less inclined to stay here."

"So basically, you were trying to scare me out of the house?" Bass asked, sounding more indifferent than angry.

"Yup," answered Roll.

"Well, it didn't work. And it's not gonna work anymore, since I signed the agreement to live here."

"Don't worry, Bass. We're not gonna send you out on any errands like that again," Protoman reassured.

"Really?"

"Well, maybe when we need to," said Megaman. "But rest assured, it's not gonna be to try and get you out of here for good."

Bass rolled his eyes. This reaction prompted several subdued snickers from the rest of the group, before the news came back on, directing their attention back to the TV.


End file.
